Bubble trap systems for infusion pump devices

ABSTRACT

Bubble traps for removing bubbles from a stream of liquid and flexible containers comprising such bubble traps are disclosed. The bubble trap includes a containment chamber fluidly coupled to an outlet conduit. At least one grate is disposed between the containment chamber and the outlet conduit. The at least one grate includes a plurality of grate inlets formed in a grate wall and fluidly coupled to the outlet conduit with a plurality of grate conduits such that the containment chamber is fluidly coupled to the outlet conduit. The grate traps bubbles entrained in the stream of liquid flowing from the containment chamber to the outlet conduit in the containment chamber when the bubbles are greater than or equal to a diameter of the grate inlets.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of currently pending U.S. applicationSer. No. 14/274,128 filed May 9, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/724,006 filed Mar. 15, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No.8,765,055, which claims priority to European Patent Application No.EP09155216 filed Mar. 16, 2009 which is herein incorporated by referencein its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The embodiments described herein relate to bubble traps for removingbubbles from a stream of liquid, containers for storing a liquidmedicament comprising such bubble traps, and devices for the automatedrelease of liquid medicament incorporating such bubble traps and/orflexible containers.

BACKGROUND

Devices for the automated release of liquid medicaments are normallyused with patients who have a continuous or variable need of a medicinethat can be administered by subcutaneous infusion. Specific applicationsare, for example, certain pain therapies and the treatment of diabetes,in which computer controlled infusion pump devices, such as insulinpumps, are used. Such devices can be carried by a patient on the bodyand contain a certain amount of liquid medicament in a reservoir in theform of a container. The medicine reservoir often comprises medicinesufficient for one or more days. The liquid medicament is supplied tothe patient's body from the reservoir through an infusion cannula or aninjection needle.

In self-administration of medicaments, such as the self administrationof insulin, the patients administering the medicament by means of aninfusion pump device are increasingly emphasizing convenience anddiscretion. As a consequence, such infusion devices are designed to beas small as possible to increase discretion and improve patient comfort.

While there are fully or partially disposable single-use infusion pumpdevices, such devices are typically non-disposable and are loaded with adisposable drug cartridge. Such disposable cartridges are preferable forsterility and contamination prevention reasons. They may be deliveredpre-filled with a certain liquid medicament, or empty, ready to befilled by a user.

One common type of infusion pump device that is carried on or near thebody has a medicine reservoir with a cylindrical ampoule and adisplacement piston, which is pushed into the ampoule by a piston rod orthreaded spindle in order to convey the liquid medicament. These knowndesigns have the disadvantage of being longer and/or thicker thandesired.

In another type of infusion pump device the rigid container and movablepiston of a syringe-type infusion pump are replaced by a flexiblecontainer. Such a container may, for example, have the form of twoflexible wall sheets that are sealed together. The liquid medicament isobtained from the container by a downstream pump. Flexible containershave the advantage of a smaller volume surplus of the container inrelation to its content, which reduces manufacturing costs and theachievable dimensions of an infusion pump device using such a flexiblecontainer. The volume of a flexible container for use in an infusionpump device may be up to 10 ml, but is preferably 5 ml or less, and morepreferably lies in a range of 1.5 to 3.5 ml.

A known problem of infusion devices are air bubbles in the fluidicsystem, particularly in the pump system, but also in other componentssuch as the container or a filling port. A certain volume of air presentin the container cannot be avoided or completely removed. If said airremains in the container or in another part of the fluidic system, itmay be administered in place of the liquid medicament, which leads topotentially dangerous dosing errors. Furthermore, the administration ofair into a patient's body should be generally avoided for medicalreasons.

Yet another problem of air in the fluidic system is the reducedstiffness of the fluidic system. Due to the high compressibility ofgases such as air in relation to liquids such as water, it becomesdifficult to measure the exact pressure in the fluidic system. Thisimpedes the detection of blockages or occlusions in the fluidic systemby measuring the fluidic pressure.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, a bubble trap for removing bubbles from astream of liquid includes a containment chamber fluidly coupled to anoutlet conduit. At least one grate is disposed between the containmentchamber and the outlet conduit. The at least one grate includes aplurality of grate inlets formed in a grate wall and fluidly coupled tothe outlet conduit with a plurality of grate conduits such that thecontainment chamber is fluidly coupled to the outlet conduit. The gratetraps bubbles entrained in the stream of liquid flowing from thecontainment chamber to the outlet conduit in the containment chamberwhen the bubbles are greater than or equal to a diameter of the grateinlets.

In another embodiment, a flexible container for holding a fluid includesan outer wall of flexible material sealed with a peripheral sealing rimdefining a containment chamber in the flexible material. An outletconduit is fluidly coupled to the containment chamber. At least onegrate is disposed between the containment chamber and the outletconduit. The at least one grate comprises a plurality of grate inletsformed in a grate wall and fluidly coupled to the outlet conduit and thecontainment chamber with a plurality of grate conduits. Bubblesentrained in a stream of fluid flowing from the containment chamber tothe outlet conduit are trapped in the containment chamber when thebubbles are greater than or equal to a diameter of the grate inlets.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description describe various embodiments and areintended to provide an overview or framework for understanding thenature and character of the claimed subject matter. The accompanyingdrawings are included to provide a further understanding of the variousembodiments, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of thisspecification. The drawings illustrate the various embodiments describedherein, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples and operations of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a cross-section of a bubble trap accordingto one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 2 schematically depicts a cross-section of a bubble trap with twocontainment chambers according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 3 schematically depicts a bubble trap according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein in (a) a top view with the coverremoved, and (b) cross section;

FIG. 4 schematically depicts a cross-section of a bubble trap with twogrates according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 5 schematically depicts a variant of a bubble trap according to oneor more embodiments shown and described herein incorporated in aflexible container with an insert part shown in (a) side view, (b)cross-section, and (c) top view, and (d) the flexible container with theinsert part;

FIG. 6 schematically depicts another variant of a bubble trap accordingto one or more embodiments shown and described herein embodied in aflexible container with a port shown in (a) perspective view, (b) topview, and (c) cross-sectional view, and (d) with the port mounted on theflexible container;

FIG. 7 schematically depicts a bubble trap as an integral part of aflexible container according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein; and

FIG. 8 schematically depicts different variants of grate inlets for abubble trap according to one or more embodiments shown and describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Bubble traps for removing bubbles from a stream of liquid, particularlyin an infusion pump device or a container for storing a liquidmedicament, are described herein. The bubble traps are able to retainbubbles exceeding a certain minimum size. The effectiveness of thebubble traps described herein is independent of the orientation of thebubble trap in three-dimensional space.

The bubble traps according to the embodiments described herein can beprovided with high quality at low costs and comprise a minimum number ofcomponents. Flexible containers for storing liquid medicamentincorporating bubble traps are also disclosed as well as devices for theautomated release of liquid medicament which incorporate bubble traps,and/or flexible containers with bubble traps.

According to one embodiment, a bubble trap for removing bubbles from astream of liquid includes a grate arranged in the stream which retainsbubbles that are drifting in the stream. The grate comprises a gratewall and two or more grate inlets arranged on the grate wall with acertain, defined geometry, through which the stream can pass downstream.The shape of the grate inlets and/or the distribution of the grateinlets on the grate is designed such that a bubble larger than a certainminimum size cannot pass the grate without coming into contact with agrate inlet.

When a bubble arrives at a grate inlet of the bubble trap it will thusinevitably come into contact with the surface of the grate wall and thegrate inlet. When the bubble enters the grate inlet, the contact areabetween grate and bubble will increase, and the contact area betweenbubble and liquid, as well as liquid and grate surface, will decrease.Due to the specific relations of the interface tensions between the gasmixture in the bubble, the grate surface and the liquid, such a statewill have a higher potential energy compared to a state with the bubblenot entering the grate inlet. Since the stream of liquid can passthrough the other grate inlets of the grate, however, the necessarypressure difference across the grate will not increase to a value thatis sufficient to force the bubble through the grate inlet. It thus willbe retained in front of the grate inlet. The effect of the interfacetension increases with decreasing dimensions of the grate inlets.

Thus, as an effect of the two or more grate inlets arranged on the gratewall, the liquid flow in the bubble trap cannot be blocked by one singlebubble. In one embodiment, the shape and distribution of the arrangementof the two or more grate inlets on the grate wall are such that a bubblebelow a certain maximum size that is retained by the grate can blockonly a part of the combined cross-sectional area of the grate inlets.

In one embodiment of a bubble trap described herein, the material of thegrate is selected such that the energy corresponding to the entry of abubble in a grate inlet is as high as possible. This can be achieved bya grate material that is as hydrophilic as possible. Hydrophilicity of asurface correlates with the energy that has to be expended to separatewater from the surface, and consequently with the interface tensionbetween the aqueous liquid and the grate surface.

For the same reason, the shape of the at least one grate inlet isdesigned such that the relationship between the surface of the grateinlet and its cross-sectional area is as large as possible. This can beachieved by choosing the shape of a grate inlet such that the ratiobetween the circumference of the grate inlet (which is proportional tothe inner surface of the grate inlet) and its cross-sectional area islarger than for a grate inlet with circular shape.

In one embodiment, the grate of the bubble trap, particularly thecircumference of the grate inlets, is sharp-edged. This has the effectof causing a sudden increase in the potential energy of a bubbleentering into a grate inlet due to the interface tension, while forsoft, rounded or chamferred edges the increase would be less sudden. Thelatter would increase the probability of a bubble entering the grateinlet.

In one embodiment, a containment chamber may be arranged upstream of thegrate. In another embodiment, the bubble trap may comprise two or moregrates.

In yet another embodiment the bubble traps comprises 2 to 10 grateinlets which are arranged on the grate wall with a certain distancebetween each other.

In yet another embodiment, the bubble traps include, in order, fromupstream to downstream: a supply conduit, a containment chamber, two ormore separate grate conduits leading from a grate inlet to a commonjunction conduit, and an outlet conduit.

To increase the capacity and efficiency of the bubble traps describedherein, a second containment chamber and a second grate may be arrangeddownstream of the first grate.

The bubble traps described herein may be embodied in a flexiblecontainer for storing a liquid medicament. In such an embodiment (whichdoes not need additional parts or elements) the flexible container isformed from an outer wall comprising two wall sheets of flexiblematerial that are sealed together with an insert part arranged betweenthe two wall sheets with positive locking. The insert part comprises anessentially flat body with an inner conduit opening toward an uppersurface of the body. The inner conduit is fluidly connected to two ormore tubular conduits that lead to an outer edge of the body, and opento a containment chamber, or to a storage compartment of the flexiblecontainer.

In another embodiment of the bubble traps described herein, the bubbletrap is embodied in a container for storing a liquid medicamentcomprising a port attached to an outer wall of the container. The portcomprises a base plate having two or more tubular conduits that lead toan outer edge of the base plate. Said tubular conduits open to a specialcontainment chamber or to a storage compartment of the flexiblecontainer.

In yet another embodiment described herein, the bubble trap is embodiedin a flexible container for storing a liquid medicament with an outerwall consisting of two sheets of flexible material that are sealedtogether. Two or more drain channels are arranged between a storagevolume and an access opening of the container. The two drain channelsare formed by a cavity arranged on one or both of the two wall sheets,and open to a containment chamber, or to a storage compartment of theflexible container.

In another embodiment of the bubble traps described herein, a membraneis arranged in contact with a compartment directly upstream of thegrate. The membrane is permeable to gases while retaining the liquid inthe compartment. This allows bubbles retained in the bubble trap toleave the compartment thereby increasing the capacity of the bubbletrap. An embodiment with such a degassing membrane is used with systemswith overpressure, such as syringe type dosing pumps, since the pressuredifference in the space behind the membrane will be the driving forcefor the air in the bubbles to pass through the membrane.

In another embodiment, a container for storing a liquid medicamentincludes a bubble trap as described herein, while a device for theautomated release of a liquid medicament, particularly an infusion pumpdevice, incorporates or is capable of using a bubble trap according toone or more embodiments described herein and/or a flexible containeraccording to one or more embodiments described herein.

In a method for degassing a liquid, particularly a liquid medicament, astream of liquid is directed through a bubble trap according to one ormore embodiments of the bubble traps described herein. Prior to beingput into operation the bubble traps are filled with liquid. Care istaken so that no bubbles are initially present in the bubble trap,particularly downstream of the grate. This can be achieved by fillingthe bubble trap upstream, supplying the liquid in reverse direction.Thus, in a method for filling a bubble trap an outlet conduit of thebubble trap is connected to a pressurized or non-pressurized liquidsupply, such as a vial, and the bubble trap is filled with liquid in areverse flow direction, from the outlet conduit through the grate inletsof the grate of the bubble trap. In one embodiment the bubble trap isevacuated prior to this reversed filling. The bubble trap may beconnected upstream to a flexible container, which is also evacuated andsubsequently filled with liquid, along with the bubble trap.

As used herein, the term “air” is meant to encompass any gas or mixtureof gases forming stable bubbles in a liquid. The terms “medicament” and“liquid medicament” are meant to encompass any drug-containing flowablemedicine, or therapeutic or diagnostic liquid, capable of being passedthrough a delivery element such as a hollow needle in a controlledmanner, such as a liquid, solution, gel or fine suspension.Representative drugs include pharmaceuticals such as peptides, proteins,and hormones, biologically derived or active agents, hormonal and genebased agents, nutritional formulas and other substances in both solid(dispensed) or liquid form. In particular, the term medicamentencompasses insulin preparations ready for administration. The terms“subcutaneous infusion” and “subcutaneous injection” are meant toencompass any method in which a needle device is inserted at a selectedsite within the body of a patient for subcutaneous, intravenous,intramuscular or intradermal delivery of a liquid medicament to asubject. Further, the term needle refers to a piercing member (includingan array of micro needles) adapted to be introduced into or through theskin of a subject.

Referring now to the Figures, a cross-section of one embodiment of abubble trap 1 is schematically shown in FIG. 1. A containment chamber 11is in fluid communication with a reservoir of liquid and/or a conduitsystem delivering liquid. In the flow direction (from left to right inFIG. 1) a grate 12 for retaining bubbles in the stream of liquid 31 isarranged at the end of the containment chamber 11. In the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 1 the grate 12 consists of a grate wall 122 on whichsix grate inlets 121 are arranged. The grate conduits 13 fluidly coupledto the six grate inlets 121 fluidly couple the grate inlets to ajunction conduit 14 and an outlet conduit 15.

When a stream of liquid 31 comprising a bubble 21 flows in to thecontainment chamber 11, the bubble 21 moves toward a grate inlet 121 ofthe grate 12. However, due to the interface tensions between the air 2,the liquid 3, and the surface of the walls of the bubble trap 1, thepressure difference across the grate 12 necessary to force the bubble 21through the grate inlet 121 and grate conduit 13 is larger than thepressure difference caused by the remaining grate inlets 121 that arenot obstructed by the bubble 21. As a result, the bubble 21 does notenter the grate inlet 121, and remains in the containment chamber 11.

The grate inlets 121 are generally equal in size to or smaller than thebubbles 21 entrained in the stream of liquid 31. The minimum size of thebubbles that can be retained by a bubble trap 1 is defined by themaximum diameter of a spherical bubble that can enter a grate inlet 121of the bubble trap 1. In one embodiment, the diameter of a grate inletof the bubble trap is from about 0.01 to about 0.3 mm. In anotherembodiment, the diameter of the grate inlet is in a range from about0.05 to about 0.2 mm.

In one embodiment, the edges of the grate inlets 121 are sharp insteadof rounded or chamfered. Chamfered edges could reduce the retainingeffect of the bubble trap as the potential energy due to the interfacetension of a bubble entering the grate inlet increases more slowly.

The bubble trap 1 depicted in FIG. 1 will retain bubbles 21 as long asthe total combined cross-sectional area of the remaining open grateinlets 121 is sufficient to keep the pressure difference across thegrate 12 (i.e., the pressure difference between the containment chamber11 and the outlet conduit 15), below the threshold where the bubble 21could flow into the grate conduit 13. If only two grate inlets arepresent (i.e., a first grate inlet and a second grate inlet), thedistance between the two grate inlets should, for example, be 5 to 100times larger then the diameter of the grate inlet.

In one embodiment of a bubble trap the volume of the containment chamber11 is sufficiently large to contain several bubbles and the area of thefront of the grate 12 is sufficiently large to leave space for severalbubbles. At the same time the volume of the containment chamber is assmall as possible in order to keep the dead volume of a container or aninfusion pump device in which the bubble trap is incorporated small. Thedead volume is that part of liquid medicament volume that cannot be usedbecause it cannot be removed from a container or an infusion pumpdevice. For expensive liquid medicaments and/or small overall volumes ofa container the dead volume can have a considerable detrimental effecton the cost efficiency. In one embodiment, the dead volume of anon-drainable containment chamber should be between about 20 to about200 μl.

In an alternative embodiment, the grate 12 of the bubble trap may bearranged in a supply channel (instead of a containment chamber). Thesupply channel may be sufficiently wide to provide sufficient space forthe retained bubbles.

FIG. 2 depicts another embodiment of a bubble trap 1 in which twocontainment chambers 11, 11′ are arranged in series. A bubble 21 thatpasses through the first grate 12, arrives in a second containmentchamber 11′ where the bubble is retained. A bubble trap according tothis embodiment may comprise more than two containment chambers andgrates, which further increases the effectiveness and the capacity ofthe bubble trap and reduces the probability of a bubble to pass thebubble trap.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2 the diameter of the grate conduits13, 13′ increases with increasing distance from the inlet conduit 17.This allows passage of a bubble 21 through the grate 12 in a downstreamto upstream direction while preventing passage of a bubble 21 throughthe grate 12 in an upstream to downstream direction. When the bubbletrap 1 is purposefully degassed by streaming liquid from downstream toupstream (right to left in FIG. 2), or when a container is filled viathe bubble trap 1 (reverse filling), a bubble present in the downstreamfluid system will easily pass through the grates 12, 12′ in the reversedirection.

Yet another embodiment of a bubble trap is depicted in FIG. 3, (a) in atop view with cover 182 removed, and (b) in a cross-section along lineA-A. The bubble trap 1 comprises a body 181 and a cover 182. A inletconduit 17 is fluidly coupled to a cylindrical containment chamber 11.Two curved grate conduits 13 fluidly couple the containment chamber 11to an outlet conduit 15 leading to a bubble trap outlet.

The height of the containment chamber 11 is greater than the height ofthe grate inlets 121 to provide sufficient space for retained bubblesand to decrease the cross-sectional area of the grate inlets 121 inrelation to the total area of the grate wall 122 thereby improving thetrap effect. Another advantage of this embodiment is that the grateinlets 121 are offset with respect to the supply/inlet conduits 17.

In one embodiment of the bubble trap, the walls of the conduits 17, 13,15 and the containment chamber 11 are slightly sloped, which allows theuse of a simple injection-molding tool for the manufacture of the bubbletrap.

FIG. 4 depicts another possible embodiment of a bubble trap 1. In thisembodiment, the bubble trap 1 includes two grates 12′, 12″ arranged inparallel on opposite sides of the containment chamber 11. The grateconduits 13 of both grates 12′, 12″ intersect at a common junctionconduit 14 fluidly coupled to an outlet conduit 15. The two sub-grates12′, 12″ are thus part of one common grate of the bubble trap 1.Depending on the orientation of the bubble trap in space, the bubbles 21may remain on the sub-grate lying on the upper side, while the othersub-grate remains free of bubbles. In an alternative embodiment thebubble trap 1 may include three or more sub-grates. In particular, thecontainment chamber 11 may comprise a multitude of walls that are allequipped with a sub-grate 12′, 12″.

The embodiments of bubble traps depicted in FIGS. 1-4 may be integratedinto an adapter or connection device located between a container orreservoir of liquid medicine and a pump device.

Alternatively, it may be possible to integrate the bubble trap 1 incertain parts or elements of an infusion pump device and/or a flexiblecontainer for a liquid medicament. In European patent application No.09155279.4, entitled “Flexible container with insert part” filed onMar. 16,2009, the same day as the parent of the present application, andnow EP 2 229 927 B1,an advantageous flexible container for storing aliquid medicament is disclosed. Said application is hereby incorporatedby reference as part of this disclosure in its entirety.

The flexible container disclosed in said application comprises an outerwall consisting of two wall sheets of flexible material that are sealedtogether, a storage compartment for the liquid medicament, and an accesspoint on one of the wall sheets. The storage compartment and the accesspoint are fluidly coupled. The access point is adapted to be fluidlycoupled to an outer conduit system, such as an infusion pump device. Aninsert part is arranged between the two wall sheets with positivelocking for fluidly connecting the storage compartment and the accesspoint. The material of the wall sheets can be a monolayer film or amultilayer structure. Preferably the wall sheets consist of one or morepolymers of the following families: Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene(PE), and copolymers; Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA), Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC), Polyvinylidene Chloride (PVDC), Polystyrene (PS), Ethylene VinylAlcohol (EVOH), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyamide (PA),Polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC),Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE), or generally any other polymer materialwhich is known to the skilled person to be suitable for that purpose.The wall sheets may be manufactured for example by extrusion, blown filmextrusion, coextrusion or lamination. When producing a multilayerstructure it may be necessary to include one or more tie layers, or toapply one or more adhesive layers between the functional layers. Toimprove barrier properties one may also use metalized film, or a siliconoxide or aluminum oxide coating may be applied. The insert part mayconsist of any suitable rigid or semi-rigid material, including glass,ceramics, metal, or suitable polymers. Preferably the insert part mayconsist of a polymer of the following families: Polypropylene (PP),Polyethylene (PE), and copolymers; Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA),Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), silicone or generally any other polymermaterial which is known to the skilled person to be suitable for thatpurpose. If the insert part comprises a protruding sealing lip,preferable materials for the insert part are thermoplastic elastomers,elastomers, and silicone, or any other suitable material that iscomparably soft and elastic. The same applies to the sealing lip if itis made from another material than the body of the insert part. Theinsert part may be manufactured by any suitable method, depending on thematerial used. If polymers are used, injection molding is the mostpreferable manufacturing method.

FIGS. 5(a) to 5(c) depict an embodiment of an insert part 41, and adetail of a flexible container 43 with such an insert part 41 is shownin FIG. 5(d). The flexible container 43 and the insert part 41 functiontogether as a bubble trap 1. On one end of the flexible container theinsert part 41 is arranged between the two wall sheets 46 of thecontainer 43. The sealing rim 432 forms a neck 433 that is smaller thanthe diameter of the disc shaped insert part 41, thereby positivelylocking the insert part within the flexible container.

The insert part 41 of the flexible container has an essentiallydisc-shaped form, with an outlet conduit 15 arranged in the center ofthe disc which leads to an access point 44 in the outer wall of thecontainer. Eight tubular grate conduits 13 are radially arranged insidethe body 181 of the insert part 41. Due to the highly symmetric form ofthe insert part, the angular orientation of the insert part in relationto the flexible container is irrelevant. In every orientation angle atleast one grate conduit 13 will open to the storage compartment (i.e.,the containment chamber 11) of the container, providing a fluidconnection between the access point 44 and the containment chamber. Itshould be understood that the containment chamber 11 shown in theembodiments of the flexible containers depicted in FIGS. 5-7 acts asboth a containment chamber for trapped bubbles as well as storagecompartment 431 for liquids such as liquid medicaments. Accordingly, forpurposes of describing the flexible containers of FIGS. 5-7, the phrases“containment chamber” and “storage compartment” may be usedinterchangeably.

The container 43 and the insert part 41 form a bubble trap 1. Theopenings of the grate conduits 13 that face toward the inner storagecompartment 431 act as the grate inlets 121 of the grate 12 of thebubble trap 1. A bubble 21 arriving at the insert part 41 cannot enter agrate conduit 13, and thus will be retained inside the storagecompartment 431 of the container 43.

FIG. 6 depicts another embodiment of a bubble trap 1 formed in aflexible container. Flexible containers may be provided with one or moreports mounted to the container wall, in addition to the access area.These ports may be used for transferring liquid to and from the storagecompartment of the container, or may be used to de-aerate the container.A particularly advantageous form of such a port is disclosed in EuropeanPatent Application No. 08167548 of the applicants, which is herebyincorporated by reference as part of this disclosure in its entirety.Said application teaches a flexible container for storing a liquidmedicament comprising two walls consisting of a flexible, sheet-likematerial, and a port mounted to the wall for transferring liquid to andfrom a storage compartment of the container. The port has a flange thatis sealingly attached to the wall, and an inner conduit connecting thestorage compartment and the exterior of the container. The portcomprises a base plate facing the storage compartment with at least onedrain channel arranged on said base plate. The drain channels areconnected to the inner conduit via an inner opening located on the baseplate.

The ports disclosed in European Application No. 08167548 can be modifiedto act as bubble traps 1 without affecting the other advantageouseffects of the ports. An example of such a modified port 42 is depictedin FIG. 6. The port 42 shown in FIGS. 6(a) to 6(c) comprises an adapter422 arranged on a base plate 423. When mounted on a flexible container43 (FIG. 6(d)), the adapter 422 protrudes through a circular hole in thecontainer wall 434. The surface of the base plate 423 on the same sideas the adapter forms the flange for mounting the port 42 to the wall434. Said flange is sealed to the inner side of the wall by ultrasonicwelding or gluing forming a liquid tight seal therebetween.

Four tubular grate conduits 13 are arranged in the base plate 423,leading from the peripheral edge (i.e., the grate wall 122) of the baseplate to a central junction conduit 14 in fluid communication with anoutlet conduit 15. The outlet conduit 15 terminates in the base plate atthe junction conduit 14. In the embodiment depicted, a septum 421 madefrom, for example, silicon polymer, is arranged in the outlet conduit15. This embodiment is suitable for use in conjunction with a hollowneedle which may be used to penetrate the septum 421 to connect thecontainment chamber 11 of the container 43 to an outer conduit system,and to transfer liquid medicament into and out of the flexible container43.

When mounted on a flexible container 43, as shown in FIG. 6(d), the port42 in combination with the container 43 forms a bubble trap 1. The fouropenings of the grate conduits 13 facing the inner storage compartment431 act as the grate inlets 121 of the grate 12 of the bubble trap 1. Asdescribed above, the containment chamber 11 of the bubble trap is thestorage compartment 431. A bubble 21 in the container arriving at theport 42 cannot enter the grate conduits 13, and thus will be retainedinside the storage compartment 431 of the container 43.

FIG. 7 depicts yet another embodiment of a bubble trap 1 embodied in aflexible container. The flexible container is a modification of aflexible container for storing a liquid medicament disclosed inapplicant's European Patent Application No. 08170627. The content ofsaid application is hereby incorporated by reference as part of thisdisclosure in its entirety. These flexible containers comprise a wallconsisting of two sheets of flexible material that are sealed together,a storage compartment for liquid medicament, and an access openingfluidly coupled to the storage compartment intended to be fluidlyconnected to an external conduit, for example of an infusion pumpdevice. A drain channel is arranged between the storage compartment andthe access opening, the drain channel formed by a cavity on one or bothof the wall sheets. In one embodiment, the cavity may be located betweenan oblong corrugation or groove in one of the wall sheets and theopposite sheet.

Such a flexible container as described above can be modified to includea bubble trap. An example of such a flexible container with a bubbletrap 1 is shown in FIG. 7. The flexible container 43 comprises two wallsheets 434 that are sealed along a peripheral sealing rim 432, and forma storage compartment 431. On one end of the container three drainchannels 45 are arranged in a broadened area of the sealing rim 432,formed by oblong depressions in one of the wall sheets. It should beunderstood that the drain channels 45 in the embodiment of the flexiblecontainer shown in FIG. 7 also act as grate conduits 13 and, as such,the phrases “drain channel” and “grate conduit” may be usedinterchangeably when describing the flexible container depicted in FIG.7. The drain channels 45 are fluidly coupled at a common junctionconduit 14, and lead to the storage compartment 431. In contrast to theflexible containers disclosed in European Patent Application No.08170627 of the applicants, where only one drain channel fluidly couplesthe access opening and the storage compartment, the multitude of narrowdrain channels 45 opening to the storage compartment 431 act as a grate12 of a bubble trap 1. When a bubble arrives at a grate inlet 121 of oneof the grate conduits 13 of the bubble trap, it will be retained andremains in the containment chamber 11 (i.e., storage compartment 431).

In the embodiments of the bubble traps described thus far the grateinlets 121 are circular or elliptical shape. However, since themechanism of the bubble trap is based on the fact that there isconsiderably higher interface tension between the air of the bubble andthe surface of the bubble trap body than between the liquid and thesurface of the bubble trap, and the energy related to the interfacetension is proportional to the interface area, the potential interfacearea between an entering bubble 21 and the grate inlet 121 and grateconduit 13 should be as large as possible in order to increase thebubble trap effect. Thus, the shape of the grate inlet and/or the grateconduit may be any suitable shape that increases the interface area.

FIG. 8 schematically depicts different variants of grate inlets 121 of abubble trap and their distribution on the grate 12. For example thegrate inlets may have a star-like shape as in FIG. 8(a), or a triangularshape, as in FIG. 8(b). These two variants have the advantage that thesurface of the bubble trap body that will be in contact with the air ofa bubble of a given volume will be larger than for an grate inlet havinga circular shape with the same cross-sectional area. Accordingly, itshould be understood that a ratio of a circumference 123 of the grateinlet in these embodiments to the cross-sectional area of the grateinlet is greater than a ratio of the circumference to thecross-sectional area of a circular grate inlet with the equivalentcross-sectional area. FIG. 8(c) depicts an embodiment with grate inletsin the form of parallel slots, and FIG. 8(d) depicts an embodiment withtwo chevron-like grate inlets 121.

FIG. 8(e) depicts an embodiment of a bubble trap in which only onesingle cross-like shaped grate inlet 121 is arranged. Although thisembodiment actually comprises only one grate inlet 121 and one grateconduit 13, and the overall cross-sectional area of the grate inlet 121may be even larger than the cross-section of the bubble 21 to beretained (symbolized by the dashed circle), the local cross-sectionalarea of the grate inlet across the dimensions of a bubble will besmaller, and consequently the bubble is retained. The one single grateinlet 121′ thus, in effect, acts as a multitude of discrete grate inlets121 and, consequently, should be understood as “two or more grate inlets121.” FIG. 8(d) depicts a further variant, in which the density of grateinlets 121 is higher than in the previously discussed examples. Theresulting grate 12 is essentially a sieve.

One particular advantage of the embodiments of the bubble traps shown inFIG. 8(f) is that the grate inlets 121 are arranged on the grate 12 in away that ensures that, for every conceivable orientation of a bubble,there is at least one grate inlet 121 that is not blocked by the bubble21. Of course, theoretically all grate inlets may be blocked by amultitude of bubbles. However, depending on the current orientation ofthe bubble trap in three-dimensional space, the retained bubbles maytend to move upwards, leaving the grate inlets located downwards free.Furthermore, due to interface tension, neighboring bubbles tend tocoalesce, forming one single bubble that blocks a smaller area of thegrate.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the embodiments describedherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimedsubject matter. Thus it is intended that the specification cover themodifications and variations of the various embodiments described hereinprovided such modification and variations come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bubble trap to remove bubbles from a stream ofliquid, the bubble trap comprising: a containment chamber; a one-pieceinjection molded body formed from a single material and which has wallsthat define at least an outlet conduit and at least one grate, whereinthe at least one grate fluidly couples the outlet conduit to thecontainment chamber and comprises: a plurality of grate conduits fluidlycoupled to the outlet conduit, and a plurality of grate inlets fluidlycoupled directly to the plurality of grate conduits, wherein bubblesentrained in the stream of liquid that flows from the containmentchamber to the outlet conduit, which have a diameter greater than orequal to a diameter of a grate inlet, get trapped in the containmentchamber by the grate.
 2. The bubble trap of claim 1, wherein thecontainment chamber is drainable only via the outlet conduit.
 3. Thebubble trap of claim 1, wherein the containment chamber is sized toprovide a dead volume which ranges from 20 to 200 microliters to providestorage in the containment chamber for the bubbles trapped by the grate.4. The bubble trap of claim 1, wherein the single material is a rigidmaterial.
 5. The bubble trap of claim 1, wherein all of the grate inletsface the containment chamber.
 6. The bubble trap of claim 1, wherein thewalls of the unitary body also define the containment chamber.
 7. Thebubble trap of claim 1, wherein the plurality of grate conduits arefluidly coupled to the outlet conduit via a junction conduit.
 8. Thebubble trap of claim 1, wherein the at least one grate is a pair ofspaced apart grates.
 9. The bubble trap of claim 1, wherein the singlematerial is a rigid material and the containment chamber is a flexiblematerial.
 10. The bubble trap of claim 1, wherein the containmentchamber is defined by a flexible container and the unitary body isprovided as an insert part to the flexible container.
 11. The bubbletrap of claim 1, wherein the grate defined by the walls of the unitarybody consists of a single grate wall located at an end of thecontainment chamber and in which the plurality of grate inlets and grateconduits are defined.
 12. The bubble trap of claim 1, wherein the atleast one grate is a pair of spaced apart grates which section thecontainment chamber into first and second containment chambers, andwherein the pair of spaced apart grates are fluidically coupled inseries.
 13. The bubble trap of claim 1 further comprising a coverdefining an inlet conduit that is fluidically connected to thecontainment chamber.
 14. The bubble trap of claim 1, wherein the atleast one grate is a pair of spaced apart grates, and wherein the pairof spaced apart grates are fluidically coupled in parallel to the outletconduit.
 15. The bubble trap of claim 1, wherein only some of the grateinlets face the containment chamber.
 16. The bubble trap of claim 10,wherein the insert part is positively locked in the flexible containervia a neck of the flexible container that has a width that is smallerthan the diameter of the insert part.
 17. The bubble trap of claim 10,wherein the walls which define the outlet conduit are shaped as a portwhich protrudes through the flexible container.
 18. The bubble trap ofclaim 10, wherein the walls which define the outlet conduit are shapedas a port which protrudes through the flexible container, and providedin the port adjacent the outlet conduit is a septum.
 19. The bubble trapof claim 1, wherein the single material is a flexible material and thewalls of the unitary body also define the containment chamber.
 20. Amethod of removing bubbles from a stream of liquid comprising utilizingthe bubble trap of claim 1 in or with a flexible container configured tostore medicament that is coupled to an infusion pump which is configuredfor the automated release of the medicament, wherein the medicamentflows as the stream of liquid from the flexible container through thebubble trap to the infusion pump during the automated release.
 21. Amethod for degassing a liquid comprising: providing a bubble trap whichcomprises a containment chamber, a one-piece injection molded bodyformed from a single material and which has walls that define at leastan outlet conduit and at least one grate, wherein the at least one gratefluidly couples the outlet conduit to the containment chamber andcomprises a plurality of grate conduits fluidly coupled to the outletconduit, and a plurality of grate inlets fluidly coupled directly to theplurality of grate conduits, wherein bubbles entrained in the stream ofliquid that flows from the containment chamber to the outlet conduit,which have a diameter greater than or equal to a diameter of a grateinlet, get trapped in the containment chamber by the grate; connectingthe bubble trap to a pressurized liquid supply; evacuating the bubbletrap; filling the bubble trap with liquid in a reverse flow direction,from the outlet conduit through the grate inlets of the grate of thebubble trap to remove bubbles from the bubble trap prior to operation ofthe bubble trap; and directing a stream of liquid through the bubbletrap to degas the liquid.
 22. The method of claim 21 further comprisingevacuating the bubble trap prior to the filling.
 23. The method of claim21 further comprising evacuating a flexible container connected to thebubble trap, wherein the bubble trap is connected upstream to theflexible container.